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Saturday, November 19, 2016

Neither snow nor rain is an excuse

The forecast for today was heavy rain. Some of our paddling friends had reasons for not paddling and two of the guys paddled closer to home. Dean, Shane and I drove the 70 kms to Cape Broyle for our weekly fix.

We have had a lot of rain recently as was evident when we arrived at the terminus of Horse Chops River. There was a good flow of water at the falls.

Shane examines a small anticline, an downward facing warp in the sedimentary rocks. I'm not sure if he realized what we were looking at but at least he knows now!

There was water running everywhere. So far we hadn't run into the torrential rain. I wondered when it would start.

The further east we paddled the more massive the cliffs became. Here the lines separating the sedimentary beds are highlighted by growth of vegetation in places.

Cape Broyle is a beautiful place to paddle, even in the rain, but this tunnel is my favourite feature. When Shane suggested the day's destination I checked the tide tables. It was going to be near high tide while we were here so I knew it would be accessible.

There are also numerous caves in Cape Broyle harbour. Nearby, I entered this cave and caught Shane at the entrance.

At Freshwater Cove we saw our largest waterfall for the day.

We entered Lance Cove with is offshore sea stack. This is usually the turnaround point for club paddles but we didn't stop there, instead crossing through the cove on our way to Church Cove where we planned for lunch. Between Lance Cove and Church Cove there are ...

... numerous off shore rocks. Deep in the harbour it was calm. Further out we started to feel a bit of swell which made for more interesting paddling.

We arrived at Church Cove and took out for lunch. If the truth be told, it wasn't fit for man nor beast. Except us. It was raining and resting for lunch the chill began to set in. Dean and I had our cags which made it pleasant enough as we were entertained by a half dozen or more seals.

After lunch the sea state changed dramatically building until we ...

... paddled out into the open ocean past North Point where it was huge. Some swells had long wavelengths but volumes of water. Interspersed were breaking waves of 2 meters that, when paddled over, caused a precipitous drop and plop on the down side. Dean got a better shot of the conditions on his blog.

We were surprised by the change in conditions and by its effects that were felt a full 5 kms into the harbour. It wasn't until we were past Gentlemans Cove that the sea flattened again protected by Brigus Head at the north entrance.

So, for 5 kms we had some great surfing and then a relaxed paddle back to the take-out where hot coffee and soup waited for us at the Riverside Restaurant.

About Me

I'm one lucky guy and I know it. That's why I picked "Kuviasuktok" as my paddling handle; translated from Inuktitut means "is happy".
I enjoy the outdoors and I enjoy it without the noise of motorized transportation. I prefer a kayak over a motorboat, skiis over skidoos and mountainbike over motorcycle. I've been active all my life and take great care of the vessel life has been poured into for me. My family is my first priority. My childern are all selfstanding adults now, I'm retired and anxious to do stuff I've always wanted to but didn't have time or money to before. One of those things is seakayaking.